TMCnet News
VoIP firms told to roll out in countryside(Philippine Daily Inquirer Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGUlators plan to require providers of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services to make their facilities available in specific areas to be determined by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in exchange for operating licenses. The plan mimics a scheme imposed in the 1990s by the NTC on mobile phone firms, which were required to install a certain number of fixed landlines in the so-called missionary areas, or those considered less profitable, in exchange for being granted permits to operate wireless networks. VoIP is a technology that allows users to make phone calls using Internet facilities. Various estimates peg the service as being 90 percent cheaper than existing voice calls offered by traditional phone companies. In an interview on Wednesday, NTC Commissioner Ronald O. Solis said the proposed rollout requirement would help develop the local VoIP industry while bringing down the cost of telecommunications for the average Filipino. Before, we asked them to roll out fixed lines as a condition [for wireless licenses], he said. Now, were thinking of recommending to Malacanang that license holders should support the community e-centers. Solis was referring to a government initiative that called for the setting up of Internet facilities in areas around the country to give Filipinos in rural areas access to the World Wide Web. Community e-centers are part of the governments Information and Communications Technology roadmap for the development of the industry. |